Cult of Hockey: It's the wrong time to trade Nail Yakupov

This tweet in from TSN’s Darren Dreger: “Let’s not forget about Nail Yakupov. Oilers were busy yesterday moving out Purcell and Schultz. Seems to be developing interest in Yak.”

And Sportsnet’s Mark Spector added: “With Purcell’s RW spot open next to Hall, Draisaitl, Kassian gets spot tonight. That’s a tell on Yakupov’s standing w/I org…IMO Oilers ready to move on from Yakupov. Would move now for pick. Chiarelli knows he won’t win this deal for former No. 1.”

My take

First off, it might well be worth noting that as far back as March 2014 Dreger ripped Yakupov and said it would be unlikely he’d be back with the Oilers for the 2014-15 season: “I would say it’s unlikely that he’s an Edmonton Oiler next season,” Dreger said back then. “Word is out that Nail Yakupov is available. The problem is, no one really wants him. Certainly not for the value that the Edmonton Oilers are going to need to get back in return. And you can see why. He had opportunities in this game early on. He scored one goal in his last 11 games. He was on the ice late in the game when the Blues scored to tie the hockey game. He’s an NHL worst -30. He lacks commitment. He thinks that skill is enough to be an NHL player. And the unfortunate reality for Nail Yakupov is that, yes, he’s a skilled player, but not an elite level skill player. And until he finds a way to absorb the message, the market on Nail Yakupov isn’t going to be great. They might have to package him with a collection of assets to get something better in return.”

Ah, March 2014, the dark days of the Eakins/MacTavish era in Edmonton. So glad those days are long gone. Yakupov somehow survived them, though I’m not sure he’s ever really recovered.

As for right now, there may well be some interest in Yakupov. But why would Edmonton move Nail Yakupov now? Surely if the plan is to move him he will have more value in June. He certainly should, if he’s handled correctly the new few weeks.

For one thing, Yak is coming back from injury and his numbers this year have been impacted by both being out and by the usual recovery time it takes for a player. For another, Edmonton just bumped up the value of Teddy Purcell enough to trade the player for a third round pick. That leaves open Purcell’s old spot on a line with Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl. Why not fill it with Yakupov?

Or if the Oilers really want to juice Yakupov’s trade value, why not put him on a line with Connor McDavid for the last weeks of the season? Maybe Edmonton will find that Yakupov is a good fit with McDavid. He certainly didn’t look like a bad fit earlier this year with McDavid.

But in 178 even strength minutes playing with Mark Letestu this year, Yakupov has one point. Terrible.

Yak has zero points in 64 minutes with Matt Hendricks. Terrible.

But does anyone put up points on a line with Letestu, who has fourth-line offensive skills? The most points any Oiler has playing with Letestu this year at even strength is Hendricks, with four points in 297 minutes, and Lauri Korpikoski, with four points in 264 minutes.

Yakupov is clearly in coach Todd McLellan’s doghouse, hence being played with such non-attacking linemates. McLellan has talked about the need for a top-drafted player like Yakupov to make his own offence, but the coach appears to under-estimate just how crippling it is for scorers to play with Letestu, as seen by Letestu’s many minutes playing on the top power play unit with Connor McDavid, where Letestu is often seen pumping great feeds from McDavid right at the goalie. Letestu might well be able to help a team, but playing on the top power play or trying to rev up the attack of a young sniper like Yakupov is outside his repertoire.

Indeed, it might even be an idea to replace Letestu on the top power play unit with a shooter like Yakupov. Or is that too insane for the hockey purists of the world, who think power play time must be earned with even strength excellence, just like Letestu has, uh, well, er…?

Essentially if the Oilers want to see if they have a player in Yakupov, they should give him some time with McDavid or Draisaitl.

Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli referenced this concept when he talked about the return of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and how it would boost the play of Edmonton’s wingers to have them teaming up with three such strong centres.

“I really would like to see the whole team together. I’d like to see three centres because it really opens up the wingers,” the GM said, then added a moment later: “I would have really liked to have seen that and then you could have seen the wings, because you’ve got three talented centremen… that you can really see how the wings can flourish. So that is disappointing.”

Yes, it’s been disappointing — and no doubt most disappointing for Yakupov, who played strong hockey with Derek Roy last year but hasn’t found his groove this year save for that short stint with McDavid.

Yakupov has his haters in Edmonton who will be glad to see him gone. He also has his fans who can’t believe he might be on the way out. I’m firmly in the middle in this debate, as I acknowledge Yakupov has only rarely ever played solid two-way hockey as an Oiler, and his attacking has almost always been underwhelming. I can see why he’s in the doghouse. He can make terrible decisions on the ice and demonstrates little puck sense, even as he hustles like a madman most shifts. All that said, I’ve also seen enough of his skill, drive and effort to want to see him more with McDavid or Hall for a spell before he’s moved out. I’m not yet convinced that a player like Benoit Pouliot is definitely a superior option to Yakupov over the next few seasons.

Based on Chiarelli’s comments about wanting to see how the wingers can flourish when the team ices three strong centres, I suspect Yakupov is going nowhere soon and will get one last shot to show his stuff as an Oiler this March.

Trading Yakupov now, when his value is so low, makes little sense. Spector says Chiarelli realizes he can’t win trading away this player, but that’s only true if he moves him now without first making a major effort to boost his value.

Again, and if nothing else, playing him with a top centre will bump up his trade value if the plan is to move him out in June. But we might also note just how quickly trade talk around Jordan Eberle died down the moment Eberle started to take regular shifts with McDavid.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

Postmedia is pleased to bring you a new commenting experience. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.